Mobile gaming these days has become extremely popular when compared to dedicated gaming handhelds such as the Nintendo 3DS or the Playstation Portable mainly because everyone has a cell phone on them, so firing up a game on your device is as easy as tapping your screen. Sony believes there is still a market for dedicated gaming handhelds in a world that’s being consumed by gaming on mobile devices and has even gone as far as saying its Playstation Vita will supersede the mobile gaming market when it’s released.

“We firmly believe that PlayStation Vita will supersede the mobile market when launched, and have grand ambitions for a product that is really at the forefront of innovation,” he said. “The mobile market in the U.S. offers consumers extremely light gaming options. We developed PlayStation Vita after observing a significant addressable market that demands rich, deep handheld gaming.”

As someone who plays video games across multiple devices, I have to say that this is quite the ambitious claim from Sony. Ever since mobile gaming has matured from simple games of Scrabble to grand RPG experiences, I believe dedicated gaming handhelds will become obsolete. Yes, the Playstation Vita will be a powerhouse of a handheld gaming device, but the problem here is convenience. It’s way more convenient for a person to pull out their cell phone and play a game than to consciously decide to bring along their Playstation Vita when they go out.